Worldbinder

THE REPORT

“You failed?” Lady Despair asked.

Vulgnash knelt upon the parapet beneath Fortress Rugassa, the smell of sulfur clotting the air in the chamber as the unbearable heat rose up from the magma. The great wyrm had risen beneath him, its maw working as it spoke.

He wore a new corpse. It was two hours past sundown. It had taken time to find a new body, to prepare the spells that invigorated it.

Never in five millennia had he failed his master. His voice was thick with shame. “I captured the wizard, as you asked, and was bringing him here. But we were set upon by a great war party of humans. A king led them, a king upon whose shoulders rested the hope of his people. He bore a blessed sword. There was no fear in him that I could use, no hatred.”

The great wyrm did not hesitate. “Go back,” she said. “A war party will attack Luciare this night. The battle itself shall provide a distraction. Join the battle. Kill the king who bears the hopes of his people, and when he is dead, bring the wizard to me.”

“I will need new wings,” Vulgnash said humbly, “if I am to make it before dawn.”

“You shall have more than wings…” Lady Despair said.

“The branding irons from the otherworld?” Vulgnash asked, excitement rising in him. He had not had time to play with them, to test them.

“They are called forcibles, ” Lady Despair said. “There are slaves who will endow you with strength tonight. You will find them in the dungeon.”

Vulgnash’s mind raced as he considered the implications. For centuries now, Dread Lords like the emperor had been Lady Despair’s favorites, for they were wise in the ways of death magic. But they had rejected their own flesh, and thus could not benefit from this new magic, from these forcibles.

Vulgnash could. He could heap strength upon himself, and speed. He could become as beautiful as the moon and as fearsome as the sun. With enough forcibles, he could win back the trust and respect of his master. Indeed, Vulgnash imagined the day when he would become the new emperor.

“Thank you, master,” he said. “Thy will be done.”